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Department of Education 


FOR THE 

United States Commission to the Paris Exposition of 1900 


MONOGRAPHS ON EDUCATION 

IN THE 

UNITED STATES 

EDITED BY 

NICHOLAS MURRAY BUTLER 

Professor of Philosophy and Education in Columbia University, New York 


1 1 


SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND 
ENGINEERING EDUCATION 


BY 



T. C. MENDENHALL, 


President of the Technological Institute, Worcester, Mass. 


This Monograph is contributed to the United States Educational Exhibit by the 

State of New York 





Department of Education 

FOR THE 

United States Commission to the Paris Exposition of 1900 

Director 

HOWARD J. ROGERS, Albany, N. Y. 


MONOGRAPHS 

ON 

EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES 

EDITED BY 

NICHOLAS MURRAY BUTLER 

Professor of Philosophy and Education in Columbia University , New York 


1 EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION — 

Andrew Sloan Draper, President of the University of Illinois, Cham¬ 
paign, Illinois 

2 KINDERGARTEN EDUCATION — Susan E. Blow, Cazenovia, New 

York 

3 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION — William T. Harris, United States 

Commissioner of Education, Washington, D. C. 

4 SECONDARY EDUCATION — Elmer Ellsworth Brown, Professor 

of Education in the University of California, Berkeley, California 

5 THE AMERICAN COLLEGE — Andrew Fleming West, Professorof 

Latin in Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 

6 THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY— Edward Delavan Perry, Jay 

Professor of Greek in Columbia University, New York 

7 EDUCATION OF WOMEN — M. Carey Thomas, President of Bryn 

Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania 

8 TRAINING OF TEACHERS — B. A. Hinsdale, Professor of the Science 

and Art of Teaching in the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 
Michigan 

9 SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE AND HYGIENE — Gilbert B. Morrison, 

Principal of the Manual Training High School, Kansas City , Missouri 

10 PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION — James Russell Parsons, Director of 

the College and High School Departments, University of the State of 
New York, Albany, New York 

11 SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING EDUCATION — 

T. C. Mendenhall, President of the Technological Institute, Worces¬ 
ter, Massachusetts 

12 AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION — Charles W. Dabney, President 

of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 

13 COMMERCIAL EDUCATION— Edmund J. James, Professor of Public 

Administration in the University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 

14 ART AND INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION — Isaac Edwards Clarke, 

Bureau of Education, Washington, D. C. 

15 EDUCATION OF DEFECTIVES — Edward Ellis Allen, Principal of 

the Pennsylvania Institution for the Distraction of the Blind, Over¬ 
brook, Pennsylvania 

16 SUMMER SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITY EXTENSION —Herbert B. 

Adams, Professor of American and Institutional History in the Johns 
Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 

17 SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES AND ASSOCIATIONS — James McKeen 

Cattell, Professor of Psychology in Columbia University, New York 

18 EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO — Booker T. Washington, Principal 

of the Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Alabama 

19 EDUCATION OF THE INDIAN — William N. Hailmann, Superin¬ 

tendent of Schools, Dayton, Ohio 




Department of Education 

FOR THE 

United States Commission to the Paris Exposition of 1900 


/ £ JL 


MONOGRAPHS ON EDUCATION 

IN THE 

UNITED STATES 

EDITED BY 

NICHOLAS MURRAY BUTLER 

Professor of Philosophy and Education in Columbia University , New York 


1 1 


SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND 
ENGINEERING EDUCATION 

BY 

v? 

T. C. MENDENHALL, 

President of the Technological Institute , Worcester , Mass. 



» ‘y 
> y 


This Monograph is contributed to the United States Educational Exhibit by the 

State of New York 





Copyright by 
J. B. LYON COMPANY 


SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING 

SCHOOLS 1 


The development of the schools of science and technology 
in the United States is, practically, an affair of the last half 
of the nineteenth century. In a large measure the same is 
true of similar institutions in Europe, for although there are 
isolated examples of earlier foundations both in Europe and 
America, it is only during the past fifty years that in num¬ 
ber and importance they have come to rank with older sys¬ 
tems of intellectual and professional training. Their com¬ 
paratively recent origin is readily accounted for when it is 
remembered that they are nearly all schools in which science 
is taught with a view to its practical application and that the 
admission to the college curriculum of any part of what is 
now generally included under the term “science” was a rare 
novelty in the early part of the century. The modern sci¬ 
entific school or engineering college is largely indebted for its 
being to Archimedes, Galileo, Bacon, Kepler, Newton and a 
host of others who by creating exact science made applied 
science possible. The idea of a school of science or of a col¬ 
lege in which the applications of scientific discovery might 
be taught was of slow growth at the beginning, and natu¬ 
rally so, for their successful development demanded the evo¬ 
lution of methods of instruction entirely new and often in 
violation of accepted tradition. 

A class of professional schools had existed, indeed, almost 
as long as education itself, namely, schools for training can¬ 
didates for the so-called “ learned ” professions, law, medicine 
and theology, but it will not be claimed that they had much 

1 The author begs to express his appreciation of the assistance generously ren¬ 
dered by officers of many of the institutions referred to in this paper who kindly- 
furnished information in the form of printed circulars, catalogues and other 
important publications, much of which he has made use of, and much more of 
which he would have gladly used had the limits of space permitted. 





4 SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS [554 

In common, either as to method or material, with the 
modern school of science. 

The earliest technical schools, those of a hundred years 
ago or more, almost without exception grew out of the 
industrial demands of the locality in which they were 
founded. One of the best examples is the famous School of 
mines at Freiberg which has enjoyed a long and illustrious 
career and many of the earlier European schools belong to 
the same class. To these and the more modern schools of 
science and technology the United States is greatly indebted, 
^especially on account of the generous welcome that has 
always been extended to American students and for the 
inspiration with which many of them have returned to take 
their part in the wonderful educational evolution which the 
last half century has witnessed. 

But in all cases European methods have been adapted 
rather than adopted. Political, social and material condi¬ 
tions have largely influenced educational foundations, and 
while the nearly one hundred schools of science and engi¬ 
neering scattered over the United States have many points 
of resemblance, there is much individuality, particularly 
among the strongest and best, and it is believed that their 
several types represent important advances in the direction 
of scientific and technical education which will not be with¬ 
out interest to educators in other parts of the world. 

The limit necessarily put upon the length of this paper 
makes it impossible to consider historically or otherwise all 
of the institutions which would properly come under its 
title. A not very exact classification based on organization 
easily divides all into three groups, and the end in view will 
be best accomplished by selecting for more careful descrip¬ 
tion some of the more important. representatives of each 
group. The order of presentation will be, in the main, 
chronological according to the date of establishment, and 
this will be departed from only when necessary to include 
the leading types of the several groups. 

In the first group will be included those schools and col- 


555 ] SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS 5, 

leges devoted practically exclusively to science and tech¬ 
nology, which have independent foundations and which are 
not under state or government control. These have almost 
invariably originated in private endowment, often of one 
man, and rely for their support upon the income from their 
endowment and from tuition fees. 

The second group embraces those schools which are 
closely affiliated with other colleges or schools forming uni¬ 
versities, sometimes without a distinctly separate faculty or 
special organization, whose work has been largely individu¬ 
alized, sometimes having a distinguishing name, and not 
under state or government control. Some members of this 
group are wholly or partly supported by separate endow¬ 
ments and fix and collect their own tuition fees, while others 
depend upon sharing the common resources of the larger 
whole of which they are a part. 

In the third group are included that very large and 
important class of schools supported largely, if not entirely,, 
by state and government appropriation. 

The organization of some of these resembles in an 
important particular that of the first group in the fact that 
they enjoy a separate existence as schools of science or 
technology, being independent of any college or university 
affiliation. The majority, however, are not thus independ¬ 
ent, and must be regarded as departments of a college, or 
schools or colleges of a university. A few of them origi¬ 
nated in private endowments and do not rely entirely on the 
state or national government for support, but yet are so 
largely dependent on that source of revenue that they fairly 
belong to the group. Something of the origin, history and 
development of a few of the principal representatives of 
these three groups will be given, to be followed by some 
general statements relating to requirements for admission, 
courses of study, degrees and other matters of interest or 
importance. 

The first endowment and organization of a school of 
science in the United States was that of the Rensselaer 


6 SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS [556 

polytechnic institute in 1824. The founder, Stephen Van 
Rensselaer, was born in New York November 1, 1765? an d 
died in Albany January 26, 1839. H e was known as the 
“ eighth patroon,” having inherited his rank and estates from 
ancestors who had for generations ruled over that enormous 
feudal estate purchased and colonized early in the 17th cen¬ 
tury by Killian Van Rensselaer of Amsterdam, Holland. 
Stephen Van Rensselaer lost his baronial rights on the 
establishment of the colonial government during the revolu¬ 
tionary war, and the extent and value of the estate, which 
included the entire territory now comprised in the counties 
of Albany, Columbia and Rensselaer, were considerably 
diminished, but after graduating from Harvard college, he 
took active steps looking to the improvement of the very 
large property still remaining, and also rapidly became a 
prominent figure in the politics of the new nation, being in 
many ways peculiarly fitted for public duties and responsi¬ 
bilities. His early interest in engineering is proved by the 
fact that he was the first to propose a canal connecting the 
Hudson river with the great lakes. As a commissioner of 
the state, he made a personal investigation of the route, 
and in 1811 a report which was received with favor. The war 
of 1812 with Great Britain intervening to postpone action 
upon this important enterprise, he entered the military service 
as commander of the United States forces on the northern 
frontier. At the close of the war he again took hold of the 
canal project and became chairman of the canal commission. 
In the discharge of his duty as such, he caused to be made 
by Professor Amos Eaton in 1821-23, a geological survey 
along the line of the canal from Albany to Buffalo, the 
examination being also extended some distance into Massa¬ 
chusetts. The importance of the results of this work so 
impressed itself upon him, together with the lack of men 
capable of properly conducting such enterprises, as to con¬ 
vince him of the desirability and necessity for scientific and 
technical education. Professor Eaton, who executed this 
early geological survey for Van Rensselaer, was a man of many 


557 ] SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS 7 

and varied accomplishments, ready to adapt himself to the 
conditions under which his work was done, and possessed of 
much ingenuity and skill in inventing and constructing simple 
devices for taking the place of more elaborate but inaccessible 
instruments. Such a man was likely to make an impression 
upon the patroon, who was himself a man of liberal education 
and broad views. It is to this combination that the Rensse¬ 
laer polytechnic institute owes its origin. Professor Eaton, 
its first director, was a native of the state of New York, born 
in 1776. When fourteen or fifteen years of age, having 
acted as chainman during a land survey, he determined to 
become a surveyor. He negotiated with a skillful black¬ 
smith who agreed to work for him at night if he would 
“ blow and strike ” during the day. A needle and a good 
working chain resulted and an old pewter plate, smoothed, 
polished and graduated, served as a compass circle. At the 
age of 16 years he did actual surveying with these instru¬ 
ments. Later he entered Williams college and was gradu¬ 
ated in 1799. His love for science led him to Yale college 
in 1815, where he received instruction from Professor Silli- 
man. He gave courses of lectures at Williams college in 
1817, developing a remarkable talent for popular exposition 
of scientific discovery, which resulted in his giving a course 
of lectures before the members of the New York legisla¬ 
ture in 1818 on the invitation of Governor De Witt Clinton, 

4 

and eventually in the geological survey already referred to 
at the request of Van Rensselaer. In his first letter to those 
selected to constitute the board of trustees Van Rensselaer 
named Professor Eaton as professor of chemistry and 
experimental philosophy, his office to be designated the 
“senior professorship.” 

This was dated November 5th, 1824, and something 
of the founder’s idea of what his school ought to do is 
shown in “Order 7 ” of the same communication. He says: 
“These are not to be taught by seeing experiments and 
hearing lectures, according to the usual method. But they 
are to lecture and experiment by turn, under the immediate 


8 SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS [558 

direction of a professor or competent assistant. Thus by a 
term of labor, like apprentices to a trade, they are to become 
operative chemists.” The opening of the school occurred on 
Monday, January 3rd, 1825. It was incorporated in March, 
1826, the act providing that the clear annual income of the 
invested funds of the institution should not exceed twenty 
thousand dollars. It was at first named the “ Rensselaer 
school; ” afterward the “ Rensselaer institute ” and after¬ 
wards the “ Rensselaer polytechnic institute.” Professor 
Eaton served for seventeen years as the senior professor, 
and during this period the course of study covered only one 
year. An important epoch in the history of the institution 
was the appointment of Professor B. Franklin Greene as 
senior professor in 1846, who became director on the estab¬ 
lishment of that office in 1850. From that time the insti¬ 
tute became more distinctly a school of civil engineering. 
The course of study was lengthened to three years and the 
corps of instructors was enlarged. The buildings and much 
of the equipment were destroyed by fire in 1862, but they 
were replaced by friends of the school and more extensive 
equipment was provided. 

The Rensselaer polytechnic institute offers two courses of 
four years each, one in civil engineering and one in natural 
science. Upon those who complete the' first it bestows the 
degree of C. E., and for the second that of B. S. In 1899 its 
instructors were fifteen in number and its students 143. It 
has graduated 1219 men, of whom 874 are living. Being 
the first school of its kind its list of graduates doubtless 
excels all others in the number of men who have reached 
distinction in professional life. It is supported by the 
income from its endowment funds and by tuition fees. Its 
government is rested in a board of twenty trustees, with the 
mayor of the city of Troy, ex-officio. 

The next in order of time and one of the foremost in the 
country is the Massachusetts institute of technology at 
Boston. 

This now famous institution owes its existence to the wise 


559 ] SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS 


9 


foresight, the earnest and never-flagging enthusiasm, and 
the rare personal charm of Professor William B. Rogers, its 
first president and real founder. Professor Rogers was born 
in Philadelphia in 1804, his father, Dr. Patrick K. Rogers, 
having emigrated from Ireland a few years earlier. In 1819 
Dr. P. K. Rogers became professor of natural philosophy in 
William and Mary college, Virginia, and there Professor W. 
B. Rogers was educated. At an early age he was distin¬ 
guished for his scientific attainments and for an eloquent 
and persuasive speech which greatly increased his influence 
among men. For a long time he was professor of natural 
philosophy in the University of Virginia and he also served 
as state geologist for many years. It was while still a pro¬ 
fessor in the university that his mind was turned to the 
problem of scientific and technical training, and in 1846 he 
drew up a scheme for a school of technology which some 
years later and with slight modifications he brought to a 
realization in the Massachusetts institute of technology. 
Although not a New England man by birth or education, 
he had occasionally visited Boston and was greatly impressed 
with it as a suitable locality for such an institution. He left 
Virginia to reside in Boston in 1853, and here, for a period 
of nearly ten years he worked, wrote and lectured, keeping 
all the time in mind the organization and development of 
the school of technology, the plans of which he had so long 
and so carefully considered. On April 10, 1861, the act 
incorporating the Massachusetts institute of technology 
received the approval of Governor Andrews, just as the 
nation was plunging into what proved to be a mighty 
struggle for its existence. A year later Professor Rogers 
was formally elected president of the institution, which as 
yet had no material existence. Indeed the war for the 
preservation of the Union delayed the consummation of 
his desires until February, 1865, at which time instruc¬ 
tion in the new school was actually begun. During these 
years, as well as during the earlier years of the actual 
existence of the school, the organization was maintained 


IO SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS [560 

and the work carried on under great discouragement, mainly 
through the personal exertions and influence of Dr. Rogers, 
its president. He had already attained a high reputation 
as a scientific man, and to this he added a rare power of 
lucid explanation and popular exposition of scientific dis¬ 
covery This, with his simple and engaging manner, enabled 
him to gather about the young and feeble educational 
experiment a number of men, many of them distinguished 
in various walks of life, who loyally put themselves under 
his leadership in all matters relating to the institute. The 
earliest financial support came from two citizens of Boston, 
Dr. Walker and Mr. Huntington, who contributed $50,000 
towards the erection of a building. When instruction began 
in 1865 there were enrolled 15 students, but the marvellous 
material development of the country which followed the 
civil war was favorable to the growth of the school and its 
prosperity rapidly increased. In 1870, owing to ill health, 
Dr. Rogers retired from the presidency and was succeeded 
by Professor John D. Runkle, who had been professor of 
mathematics from the beginning. In 1878 Dr. Rogers, hav¬ 
ing partially recovered his health, was induced to return to 
the presidency, holding that office until 1881, when, on his 
recommendation, General Francis A. Walker was elected as 
his successor. A year later, at noon of May 30th, 1882, 
Dr. Rogers, in the midst of an address to the graduating 
class of the institute, in which his hearers were delighted 
with an apparent revival of the spirit and eloquence with 
which he was accustomed to enrich every occasion for dig¬ 
nified address, fell upon the platform of Huntington hall, 
surrounded by the material realization of his dreams of 
nearly forty years earlier, and by those who, by the closest 
associations, had learned to love him as few are loved. 

Under the able leadership of his distinguished successor, 
the Massachusetts institute of technology entered upon a 
new career of growth and development which has placed it 
in the front rank of its kind throughout the world. 

By the act of incorporation of 1861 William Barton 


561] SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS II 

Rogers and his twenty associates were made a body corpo- 
porate “ for the purpose of instituting and maintaining a 
society of arts, a museum of arts and a school of industrial 
science.” The latter has become the prominent feature of 
the institute. “ It is devoted to the investigation and 
teaching of science as applied to the various engineering 
professions, namely, civil, mechanical, mining, electrical, 
chemical and sanitary engineering, and naval architecture, 
as well as to architecture, chemistry, metallurgy, biology, 
physics and geology. A course of a less technical nature, 
designed as a preparation for business callings, is also pro¬ 
vided.” There is also affiliated with it the Lowell school 
of practical design, established in 1872 by the trustee of 
the Lowell institute for the purpose of promoting industrial 
art in the United States. The course in this school covers 
three years of instruction in the art of design including 
technical manipulations; copying and variation of designs; 
original designs and the making of working designs. 

The institute offers thirteen distinct courses, each of four 
years’ duration, in civil engineering, mechanical engineer¬ 
ing, mining engineering and metallurgy, architecture, chem¬ 
istry, electrical engineering, biology, physics, general studies, 
chemical engineering, sanitary engineering, geology and 
naval architecture. It is amply equipped with laboratories, 
museums and libraries. Its officers of instruction number 
136 in all departments. Students in all departments num¬ 
bered 1171 in 1899, and the number of graduates from the 
beginning is nearly two thousand. 

The institute is supported for the most part by the income 
from private endowments and from fees received from 
tuition. It receives, however, one-third of the income of 
the commonwealth of Massachusetts from the national land 
grant funds and subsequent national appropriations for land 
grant colleges. During the past two years it has received 
from private bequests something over one million dollars. 
It furnishes free tuition to forty students from the public 
schools of Massachusetts from which it is reimbursed by 


12 SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS [562 

legislative appropriation. Its government is vested in a 
corporation consisting of not more than fifty members, 
including the governor of the commonwealth, the chief 
justice of the supreme judicial court and the secretary of the 
state board of education. The corporators, excepting the 
ex-officiis members, hold office for life and vacancies are 
filled by the corporation. It confers the degree of bachelor 
of science on the completion of any of the regular courses 
of study and that of master of science for graduate courses 
of at least one year. 

The Worcester polytechnic institute at Worcester, Massa¬ 
chusetts, was incorporated in May, 1865, only a few weeks 
after the Massachusetts institute of technology received its 
first class of fifteen students in rented rooms in Boston. In 
the latter part of 1864 Mr. John Boynton of Templeton, in 
Worcester county, a merchant who by thrift and economy 
had accumulated a considerable fortune, made known to Mr. 
David Whitcomb of Worcester, who had been his partner 
and was his most trusted friend, his desire to devote the 
major portion of his savings to the establishment of a school 
for training young men for industrial pursuits. He was 
wisely advised by Mr. Whitcomb, a man of rare sagacity, 
and Rev. Dr. Seth Sweetser, then pastor of the Central 
church of Worcester, was also consulted. It developed that 
a distinguished citizen of Worcester, Mr. Ichabod Wash¬ 
burn, the founder of the great Washburn & Moen steel and 
wire manufactory, long the leading establishment of its kind 
in the world, had about a year earlier confided to Dr. 
Sweetser his own desire to contribute towards the establish¬ 
ment of an institution of like nature. A conference, includ¬ 
ing among others the Hon. Emory Washburn, President 
Hill of Harvard university, the Hon. George F. Hoar and 
the Hon. Stephen Salisbury, resulted in a union of the two 
schemes, Mr. Washburn contributing the cost of the erection, 
equipment and endowment of extensive workshops, since 
known as the Washburn shops, to form a part of the means 
provided for the proper training of mechanical engineers. 


563] SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS 13 

Mr. Boynton’s gift was $100,000. The citizens of Worcester 
undertook to provide for the erection of a suitable building 
upon a beautiful and convenient site given by Stephen Salis¬ 
bury, who was also one of the most generous contributors 
to the building fund. It is interesting to note that many of 
the subscribers gave small sums, tradesmen and others 
uniting, to the number of about five hundred, to swell the 
amount. The corporation organized with the Hon. Stephen 
Salisbury as president, and in 1868 the first building, Boyn¬ 
ton hall, was dedicated and the work of the school inaugu¬ 
rated. Its first president was Dr. Charles O. Thompson, a 
man most admirably fitted for the development of the new 
and somewhat novel plans of the trustees and donors. Dr. 
Thompson made a special study of European technical 
schools, particularly of the Russian schools, the imperial 
technical school at Moscow and the institute of technology 
at St. Petersburg. 

In these schools the experiment was first made of com¬ 
bining in the engineering courses the study of text-books, 
lectures and other exercises long known to form a necessary 
part of scholastic training* with practical exercises in work¬ 
shops in which the student was made familiar with machines, 
their construction and use, and the nature of the materials 
upon which they worked. Dr. Thompson was especially 
impressed with this plan as representing very closely the 
ideas of the founders of the Worcester polytechnic institute, 
and under his able direction it became the central idea about 
which the organization of the school crystallized. He 
remained at its head for fourteen years, during which it 
developed the distinctive qualities by which it has since 
been characterized. During the thirty years of its existence 
it has received numerous additions to its original funds, 
mostly from citizens of Worcester and especially from the 
Salisburys, including Stephen Salisbury 2d, the first presi¬ 
dent of the board of trustees, and Stephen Salisbury 3d, 
the present (1899) head of the corporation. As the school 
grew, and with it the demands of new methods of instruc- 


14 SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS [564 

tion, several large and commodious buildings were added to 
the original, notably the Salisbury laboratories for physics 
and chemistry, the gift of the present Stephen Salisbury; 
the engineering building, with its mechanical laboratories, 
erected by means of an appropriation by the state of Massa¬ 
chusetts of $100,000; the power laboratory, the hydraulic 
laboratory, etc. Perhaps the distinctive feature of the 
school is the large utilization of workshops in connection 
with instruction in mechanical and electrical engineering. 
The constructive principle is dominant in the workshop 
training, and the student during his course, or sometimes in 
conjunction with a small group of his fellows, actually pro¬ 
duces all the parts of a tolerably complex machine, involv¬ 
ing the use of a wide variety of machine tools and of mate¬ 
rials used in construction. The excellence of his work or 
design is tested as an actual commercial product, which is 
held to be the final test, and to secure the best results the 
Washburn shops maintain a commercial side, the greater 
part of the output of which consists of special machines, 
appliances and devices originally designed and developed 
there, representing the results of actual engineering prac¬ 
tice on the part of students and professors. 

The institute offers five courses, each of four years dura¬ 
tion, namely, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, 
chemistry (including sanitary and industrial chemistry), 
electrical engineering and general science. It grants the 
degree of bachelor of science to those who complete any 
one of its courses, and the master’s degree for graduate 
study of not less than one year. Professional degrees of 
mechanical, civil and electrical engineering are granted upon 
conditions requiring still further work and several years of 
successful professional experience. 

Its corps of instructors numbers 31 and its students 
(1899) 236. Its graduates number (1899) 823. Its support 
is derived from the income of its endowment and fees for 
tuition. It gives free tuition to forty students from the 
state of Massachusetts for which it is reimbursed by annual 


565] SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS I 5 

appropriation from the state. It also furnishes free tuition 
to about thirty young men, residents of Worcester county, 
for which funds have been provided by donation. Its gov¬ 
ernment is vested in a board of twelve trustees, one being 
appointed by the state board of education, and the mayor 
of the city of Worcester being a member ex-officio. Other 
members are chosen, by the board and serve for life. 

The Lehigh university, at South Bethlehem, Pennsylva¬ 
nia, although by name a university, is and has always been 
pre-eminently a technical or engineering college of a high 
grade. The original object of its founder was to afford the 
young men of the Lehigh valley a complete education, tech¬ 
nical, literary and scientific, suitable to fit them for those 
professions represented in the development of the peculiar 
resources of the rich mining territory in which it is located. 

In 1865 the Hon. Asa Packer signified his intention of 
providing such an institution by announcing his willingness 
to donate to it the sum of $500,000 and one hundred and 
fifteen acres of land in South Bethlehem on which the build¬ 
ings might be placed. Judge Packer w&s born in Groton, 
Connecticut, in 1806, and died in Philadelphia in 1879. 
After receiving a common school education he began learn¬ 
ing the trade of tanning, but gave it up to serve an appren¬ 
ticeship as a carpenter. He worked at this trade for some 
time, but while still under twenty years of age, on the open¬ 
ing of the Lehigh Valley canal, he established himself at 
Mauch Chunk, becoming the owner and master of a canal 
boat for carrying coal to Philadelphia. Although entirely 
lacking preliminary training, he possessed the instincts of 
an engineer, and was soon extensively engaged in the build¬ 
ing of locks and boats and in the mining and transportation 
of coal. He projected the Lehigh Valley railroad, and 
through his varied and extensive operations in mining and 
transporting coal became the richest man of his day in the 
state of Pennsylvania. He filled important political offices, 
was a member of congress and was the candidate of his 
party for governor of the state in 1869. He gave to the 


16 SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAE AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS [566 

newly-established institution more liberally during his life 
than he had at first announced, and at his death bequeathed 
to it an endowment of nearly $2,000,000, the total amount 
of his benefactions reaching over two and a half million 
dollars. 

The institution was incorporated in 1866, and its first class 
was graduated in 1869. Its first president was Professor 
Henry Coppee, LL.D. It is well equipped with suitably- 
appointed laboratories, an astronomical observatory, a 
museum which is especially rich in minerals, and a large 
and well-endowed library. While it offers a classical course, 
its resources are almost exclusively devoted to the school of 
technology. In this six courses are offered as follows : Civil 
engineering, mechanical engineering, metallurgy, mining, 
electrical engineering and chemistry. Its corps of instructors 
numbers 41 and its students (1899) 325, of whom all except 
ten were in the technical or scientific courses. Up to 1899 
its graduates numbered nearly one thousand. 

The Lehigh university is supported by the income from 
its endowments and the fees charged for tuition, although it 
has received occasional appropriations from the state. It is 
governed by a board of ten trustees, together with nine 
honorary trustees, four of whom are chosen from the alumni 
to serve for a fixed term of years. 

The Stevens institute of technology, at Hoboken, New Jer¬ 
sey, was opened for the admission of students in September, 
1871. Mr. Edwin A. Stevens, its founder, was a member of 
a distinguished family of engineers. His grandfather, John 
Stevens, had been a member of the continental congress, 
and his father, also John, had filled offices of trust and 
responsibility during the revolutionary war, besides being 
the most famous engineer of his time. At the close of the 
war for independence he was a man of independent wealth, 
owning the island of Hoboken on which he lived during the 
summer, and he devoted practically the remainder of his life 
to experimental engineering at his own cost for the common 
good. Through his influence the American patent law was 


567] SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS 17 

enacted. * He was one of the earliest users of steam and he 
made important improvements in the method of generating 
it. He was the first to navigate the Hudson by means of a 
steamboat, which he did successfully in 1804, and by a ves¬ 
sel propelled by twin screws, essentially the same in form as 
those now universally in use, and he was always a warm 
advocate of the screw propeller. He established the first 
steam ferry in the world, was the first to navigate the ocean 
by steam and in 1812 he made the first experiments in the 
use of artillery against iron armor, and about the same time 
he strongly urged the construction of a railroad between the 
seaboard and the great lakes instead of a canal which was 
then being talked of. His suggestions were rejected by 
the commissioners, who considered them impracticable and 
visionary. 

His sons, Robert L. and Edwin A., inherited the engi¬ 
neering tastes of their father and added new lustre to the 
fame of the family by remarkable achievements in the field 
of railroad development and marine engineering. The ear¬ 
liest railroads of importance in the United States were built 
under their direction and the two brothers were the joint 
inventors of many improvements in track, rolling stock, 
power, etc. Both were greatly interested in the application 
of engineering to warfare and especially in improving naval 
attack and defense, and Robert L. Stevens built the first 
ironclad vessel ever constructed. In the will of Edwin A. 
Stevens, dated April 15th, 1867, he bequeathed a block of 
ground in the city of Hoboken, with $150,000, for the erec¬ 
tion of buildings thereon “suitable for the uses of an insti¬ 
tution of learning, and also $500,000 as an endowment 
fund for the support of the same. In 1870 Professor 
Henry Morton, Ph. D., at that time professor of chemistry 
in the University of Pennsylvania and also secretary of the 
Franklin institute, was selected as the president of the new 
institution for which a charter had been obtained in Febru¬ 
ary of the same year. Dr. Morton, to whom the success 
and high character of the school is largely due, has contin- 


18 SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS [568 

lied to serve as its president from the beginning. In 1875 
a mechanical laboratory was established under the direction 
of Professor R. H. Thurston, who was the first professor of 
mechanical engineering in the institute. The Stevens insti¬ 
tute is essentially a school of mechanical engineering alone, 
and it offers but one course of study, which requires four 
years for its completion. Much attention is given to practi¬ 
cal laboratory and workshop methods. There is a depart¬ 
ment of tests in which are undertaken measurements of the 
performance of steam engines and other motors, of the effi¬ 
ciency of boilers, electrical and hydraulic apparatus, of the 
strength of materials and kindred problems. Its officers of 
instruction are 21 in number and its students (1899) 214. 
Since its organization the institute had graduated about 700 
students. It grants the degree of mechanical engineer to 
those who have completed its course of study and it has 
bestowed honorary degrees of doctor of philosophy and 
doctor of engineering. Since the original bequest of Mr. 
Stevens it has received considerable additions to its endow¬ 
ment fund, and its president, Dr. Morton, has been among 
the liberal donors. It derives its support from the income 
from its invested funds and from its tuition fees. Its gov¬ 
ernment is in the hands of a board of twelve trustees, one 
of the number beinof an alumnus. 

The Case school of applied science, at Cleveland, Ohio, 
was incorporated on March 29th, 1880. Leonard Case, its 
founder, was born in Cleveland on June 27th, 1820. His 
father, also Leonard Case, had come to Ohio from Pennsyl¬ 
vania at the beginning of the century. By judicious pur¬ 
chases of public lands in and near Cleveland, then a village, 
now (1899) a flourishing city of over 300,000 inhabitants, 
and by active participation in early railroad enterprises, he 
accumulated a large estate, all of which his son, Leonard, 
inherited. The latter was educated at Yale college, being 
a member of the class which was graduated in 1842. He 
was, as a young man, inclined rather to literary and scien¬ 
tific pursuits than to business. He was especially fond of 


569] SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS 19 

scientific and mathematical studies, but he possessed con¬ 
siderable real literary ability, as was evidenced by occasional 
poems and translations, some of which were published in the 
best magazines of the day. In 1876 he had already deter¬ 
mined upon founding a school of science, and in 1877 he 
executed a deed of trust setting apart certain real estate for 
the support of the institution, to take effect upon his death, 
which occurred on January 6th, 1880. 

In this he directed the trustees “to cause to be formed 
and to be regularly incorporated under the laws of Ohio an 
institution of learning to be called ‘ Case school of applied 
science,’ and located in said city of Cleveland, in which 
shall be taught by competent professors and teachers 
mathematics, physics, engineering — mechanical and civil — 
chemistry, economic geology, mining and metallurgy, natu¬ 
ral history, drawing and modern languages, and such other 
kindred branches of learning as the trustees of said institu¬ 
tion may deem desirable.” Instruction began in 1881, with 
a class of 16 students, the school being carried on from that 
time until the summer of 1885 in the old Case homestead. 
A commodious building having been erected for the use of 
the school, it was occupied at the beginning of the term in 
September, 1885. A year later the building with all that it 
contained was destroyed by fire. It was promptly rebuilt 
and occupied in 1888. Since that time several additional 
buildings for laboratory and shop exercises have been 
erected. 

The Case school of applied science offers eight regular 
courses of instruction, each requiring four years. They are 
civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engi¬ 
neering, mining engineering, physics, chemistry, architecture 
and general science. In 1899 there were 21 instructors and 
218 students. From the beginning it has graduated about 
230 men. The degree of bachelor of science is granted to 
all who complete one of the regular courses. That of mas¬ 
ter of science may be conferred upon graduates who have 
devoted at least one year exclusively to graduate study. 




20 SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS [S 7 ° 

Professional degrees, namely, civil engineer, mechanical 
engineer, electrical engineer and engineer of mines may also 
be conferred after one year of graduate study or after pro¬ 
fessional work in positions of responsibility, for three years 
after graduation. The property left by Mr. Case as an 
endowment for the support of the school is valued at about 
$2,000,000, and the amount invested in buildings and equip¬ 
ment is about $350,000. The school derives its support 
from the income from its endowment and tuition fees. Its 
government rests with a corporation consisting of twenty 
men, from whom six known as trustees are selected. 

The Rose polytechnic institute, at Terre Haute, Indiana, 
was organized as early as 1874, but it was not open to stu¬ 
dents until 1883. The intervening years were spent in the 
erection of buildings for the accommodation of the school 
and in the personal examination by members of the board 
of managers of the leading schools of science and tech¬ 
nology in the country. Its founder was Chauncy Rose, 
born in Wethersfield, Connecticut, in 1794, died in Terre 
Haute in 1877, having settled in Indiana in 1817. Mr. 
Rose was a successful business man, made judicious invest¬ 
ments in real estate and was active in the early railroad 
development of Indiana. Throughout his long life he was 
distinguished for the sturdiest integrity in all business mat¬ 
ters and for his generous and philanthropic disposition. An 
incident of the latter part of his life forcibly illustrates those 
qualities which made him the founder of schools, orphan 
asylums, free dispensaries, etc. His brother John lived in 
New York city and had also become a man of great wealth, 
concerning the disposition of which, after his death, he had 
very clear and well-defined ideas. Through a serious error 
in the preparation of his will, it appeared that if executed 
under the laws of New York it would fail in accomplishing 
the evident desires of the testator. Chauncy Rose at once 
Instituted legal proceedings to have the will set aside, in 
which he succeeded after six years of litigation. He was 
himself the sole heir, and the estate of over $1,500,000 


5 7 1 ] SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS 2 1 

became his, but he immediately expended the whole in the 
exact manner desired by his brother, mostly in various 
charities in New York city. 

He carefully attended to the erection of the buildings for 
the school he was to found, and on his death left an endow¬ 
ment for it of over half a million dollars. The trustees, in 
their examination of various other institutions, were much 
impressed with the organization and character of the Wor¬ 
cester polytechnic institute, and accordingly they invited Dr. 
Charles O. Thompson, its president, to come to Terre 
Haute as the first president of the Rose polytechnic. He 
accepted the invitation, and, after nearly a year in Europe, 
engaged in a renewal of his acquaintance with the leading 
schools of science and technology to be found there, he 
began the work of organizing the new institution which was 
opened to students in 1883. Dr. Thompson’s work at the 
Rose polytechnic was unhappily cut short by his death only 
a little more than a year after the opening of the institute, 
but in that time its organization was practically completed, 
following closely the lines which he had previously estab¬ 
lished at Worcester, to which full reference has already been 
made. 

The Rose polytechnic institute offers four separate 
courses of study each of four years’ duration. They are in 
mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, civil engi¬ 
neering and architecture, and in chemistry. Its faculty of 
instruction (1899) included 15, and its students numbered 
100. The total number of its graduates is about 260. It 
confers the degree of bachelor of science upon those who 
have completed any of its courses. That of master of sci¬ 
ence is conferred two years after graduation, at least one of 
which must be spent in graduate study, approved by the 
faculty. Professional degrees, mechanical engineer, elec¬ 
trical engineer or civil engineer will be conferred upon those 
who have already received their master’s degree and who 
have subsequently spent at least two years in the successful 
practice of their profession. The institute derives its sup- 


22 SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS [ 5/2 

port from its endowment funds and tuition fees. Additions 
to the endowment fund have been received since the death 
of the founder. It is governed by a board of managers 
consisting of nine men, with power to fill vacancies. By 
arrangement one member of the board is an alumnus, elected 
by the alumni, to serve for one year. 

The Polytechnic institute of Brooklyn, at Brooklyn, New 
York, was originally an academy or preparatory school of 
high grade, existing since 1854 under the name “ Brooklyn 
collegiate and polytechnic institute.” Two courses of 
advanced study were provided in 1870, and in 1889 it was 
reorganized and rechartered under the name it now bears. 
One of its courses of study is called the “ liberal ” course 
and leads to the degree of bachelor of arts, but the princi¬ 
pal work of the institute is in applied science. Here three 
courses are provided, engineering, chemical and electrical. 
Those who complete these courses, which are each four years 
in length, receive the degree of bachelor of science. Post 
graduate courses are provided. In 1899 the corps of 
instructors numbered 11, and there were 79 students. In 
its technical and engineering courses it has graduated nearly 
a hundred men. Its income is derived from endowment 
funds and tuition fees. 

The Armour institute of technology, at Chicago, Illinois, 
was founded by Philip D. Armour in 1892, and originally 
chartered as “ the Armour institute.” Mr. Armour was born 
in Stockbridge, N. Y., in 1832. He received only a common 
school training, and after spending some time as a miner in 
California, he engaged in a commission business in Mil¬ 
waukee. In 1863 he began his career as a grain and pork 
merchant, and since 1875 he has been at the head of the firm 
of Armour & Company of Chicago, the largest dealers in 
dressed meats and provisions in the world. He has given 
generously towards the establishment and maintenance of a 
mission in Chicago known as the Armour mission. His 
gifts to the institute of technology which bears his name 
already amount to more than $2,500,000. In the first public 


573 ] SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS 23 

announcement of his gift he said: “ This institution is 
founded for the purpose of giving to young men and women 
an opportunity to secure a liberal education. ... It is 
not intended for the poor or the rich, as sections of society, 
but for any and all who are earnestly seeking practical edu¬ 
cation. . . . The institute is not a free school, but its 

charges for instruction are in harmony with the spirit which 
animates alike the founder, the trustees and the faculty, 
namely, the desire to help those who wish to help them¬ 
selves.” Instruction began in 1893, and in 1895 it was some¬ 
what reorganized, full four years’ courses were arranged for, 
and the name changed to the “ Armour institute of technol¬ 
ogy.” The principal feature of the school is what is known 
as “ the technical college,” to which are allied, under the 
general organization, the department of domestic arts, the 
kindergarten normal department, the department of music 
and the department of shorthand and typewriting. In the 
technical college five courses of study are offered, a course 
in mechanical engineering, in electrical engineering, in archi¬ 
tecture, in science and in civil engineering. In 1899 the 
corps of instructors numbered 31. No information concern¬ 
ing the number of students is given in the published year¬ 
book. Its graduates probably number about 60. It confers 
the degree of bachelor of science. It is especially well 
equipped in apparatus relating to electric measurements. 
Its government is vested in a board of six trustees of which 
the founder is one, as is also the president of the institute. 

The limits to which this monograph is restricted will not 
permit detailed reference to a greater number of institutions 
belonging to the group of independently organized and 
endowed schools of technology, although there are several 
others that, by reason of their excellent facilities and com¬ 
prehensive courses of study, are quite as important as some 
of the above which have been selected as types. Within 
two or three years additions to the list have been made, 
among which may be mentioned the Bradley polytechnic 
institute at Peoria, Illinois, and the Clarkson institute of 


24 SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS [574 

technology at Potsdam, N. Y. There are a number of excel¬ 
lent schools in the southern states, mostly supported, how¬ 
ever, by state appropriations. 

Several of the most important schools of science and 
engineering in the United States belong to the second 
group, being affiliated with universities and colleges and 
sharing with other departments the income from private 
endowments, facilities and faculties of instruction. Less 
detailed consideration will be given them here on that 
account, as they will doubtless receive a large measure of 
attention in monographs relating to these institutions. This 
exposition would be quite incomplete, however, without ref¬ 
erence to them, and, at the risk of duplication, a brief 
description of some of the leading examples will be given. 

The Sheffield scientific school of Yale university, at New 
Haven, Connecticut, was organized in 1847 as a school of 
applied chemistry. In i860 it received its first considerable 
endowment from Joseph E. Sheffield of New Haven. Mr. 
Sheffield was a native of Connecticut, born in 1793. After 
receiving a common school education he began, at the early 
age of fifteen years, a long and successful business career. 
For more than a quarter of a century he lived in the south, 
becoming the chief cotton merchant in Mobile, Alabama, 
but in 1835 he returned to his native state and established 
himself in New Haven. He was active in canal and rail¬ 
road development, both in New England and the west, 
accumulating a large fortune from which he made munifi¬ 
cent donations to Yale college. In i860 he provided suit¬ 
able buildings for the scientific department and made liberal 
endowments for its support. The Sheffield scientific school 
is devoted to “ instruction and researches in the mathemati¬ 
cal, physical and natural sciences, with reference to the pro¬ 
motion and diffusion of science, and also to the preparation 
of young men for such pursuits as require special proficiency 
in those departments of learning.” Instruction is specially 
planned for two classes of students: 1st, graduates of Yale 
and other universities or colleges, and others specially quali- 


575 ] SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS 25 

fied for advanced or special scientific study; 2nd, under¬ 
graduates who desire a training chiefly mathematical and 
scientific to fit them for higher scientific studies or for such 
occupations as demand such training. The undergraduate 
courses extend through three years, but the requirements 
for admission are considerably in advance of those in institu¬ 
tions whose courses are of four years. A number of courses 
of study are provided, at least ten being distinctly separate. 
They include chemistry, civil engineering, mechanical engi¬ 
neering, electrical engineering, agriculture, natural history, 
mineralogy, biology, mining and metallurgy. There are 
also a number of graduate courses. The degree of bach¬ 
elor of philosophy is conferred upon those completing any 
of the three years’ courses of study. The degree of master 
of science is conferred upon those who have taken their first 
degree in science and who have had at least one year of resi¬ 
dent graduate study, under the direction of the governing 
board. Two additional years are required for the degree of 
civil engineer, or mechanical engineer and the degree of 
doctor of philosophy is also conferred. In 1899 there were 
59 graduate students, 13 special students and a total of 597. 
The total number of professors and instructors is 63. The 
faculty is distinct from that of the academic department 
of Yale college, but some of the instructors are connected 
with other departments. The governing board consists of 
the president of the university with the director of the sci¬ 
entific school and members of the faculty permanently 
attached to the school. Degrees are conferred by the 
president of the university on the regular university com¬ 
mencement day and the corporate control of the school is 
that of Yale university. 

The Lawrence scientific school of Harvard university, Cam¬ 
bridge, Massachusetts, was founded by Abbott Lawrence in 
1847. He was the younger of two brothers, born in Groton, 
Massachusetts, late in the last century, who were the most 
famous merchants in Boston during the first half of this. 
He was a graduate of Harvard college and was distin- 


26 SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS [576 

guished not only for great success in mercantile and manu¬ 
facturing operations, but also for the important public serv¬ 
ices with which he was occupied during the later years of 
his life. He was a member of congress, a commissioner 
for negotiating the northeast boundary treaty with Great 
Britain, and served as minister to England from 1849 to 
1852. His first gift for the endowment of the school which 
bears his name was $50,000, to which large additions were 
afterwards made by himself and members of his family. 
The primary object of the institution was to afford an 
opportunity for special study and training in science which 
the then existing foundations and departments of the univer¬ 
sity did not offer. Not the least of the important benefits 
it conferred during the earlier years of its existence was the 
bringing of Professor Louis Agassiz into close relations with 
the university, a special chair of zoology and geology in the 
scientific school having been created for him by Mr. Law¬ 
rence in 1848. It was originally intended that the Lawrence 
scientific school should be independent of Harvard college, 
and for many years it was so maintained, but in recent years 
it has gradually become merged with it until it now forms a 
part of the university, its government together with that of 
the college and the graduate school being under the faculty 
of arts and sciences. It confers or rather prepares for the 
degree of bachelor of science by four years’ courses, eleven 
in number, including civil engineering, electrical engineer¬ 
ing, mechanical engineering, mining and metallurgy, archi¬ 
tecture, chemistry, geology, biology, general science, science 
for teachers, and anatomy and physiology. These courses 
are essentially required, while those of the college are 
largely elective. The particular object of the school is 
to afford to men of sound preliminary training a liberal¬ 
ized education in various branches of science. So far as 
possible the instruction relates rather to the principles of 
science than to technical work, the intention being to make 
the graduates ready for the apprenticeship of their profes¬ 
sions. It avails itself of the great resources of Harvard 


577 ] SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS 27 

university, its museums, libraries, laboratories, etc., these 
being used in common by students who are candidates for 
the degrees of bachelor of science, bachelor of arts, or for 
the several graduate degrees conferred by the faculty of 
arts and sciences. While there are certain professors whose 
duties are confined to the scientific school, a great part of 
the instruction is in common with the college. It is so 
closely linked with Harvard college that no clear discrim¬ 
ination can be made in the funds which support the scien¬ 
tific school and other foundations. There is considerable 
election in the subjects required for admission and their 
range is essentially the same as with the college. In 1899 
there were 425 students in the scientific school. 

The Chandler school of science of Dartmouth college, 
Hanover, New Hampshire, was established in 1851 by the 
trustees of Dartmouth college, on the receipt of a bequest 
of $50,000, from Abiel Chandler, who left it to them in 
trust “ for the establishment and support of a permanent 
department or school of instruction in the college, in the 
practical and useful arts of life.” Mr. Chandler was born in 
Concord, New Hampshire, in 1777. Until he was twenty- 
one years of age he worked upon a farm but soon after he 
entered Harvard college from which he was graduated in 
1806. For several years he was a teacher but afterwards 
engaged in business in Boston, retiring with a fortune in 
1845. addition to his bequest to Dartmouth college he 
distributed most of his estate in charity. The Chandler 
school was maintained as a separate department of the col¬ 
lege for many years but it has recently been formally incorpo¬ 
rated into the college and it is now known as the Chandler 
scientific course leading to the degree of bachelor of science. 
This course covers four years and is best described as a 
course in general science, including modern languages, 
mathematics, history, political science, etc., along with a 
good representation of the exact and natural history sci¬ 
ences. About 150 students are in the Chandler course. 

Affiliated with Dartmouth college is the very important 


28 SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS [578 

graduate school of civil engineering known as The Thayer 
school of civil engineering. It was founded in 1867 by 
Gen. Sylvanus Thayer, U. S. A., who gave a fund of $70,000. 
General Thayer was born in Massachusetts in 1785. He 
was graduated from - Dartmouth college in 1807 and from 
the U. S. military academy at West Point, which was then 
in a very elemental stage, in 1808. He became one of the 
most distinguished engineers of the army, was sent to 
Europe to study military works and schools, and on his 
return in 1817 was made superintendent of the U. S. mili¬ 
tary academy at West Point, a position which he held for 
sixteen years. During this time he entirely reorganized the 
school, putting it upon the same plane as the best military 
schools of Europe. So important were his services to the 
academy that his monument at West Point bears the inscrip¬ 
tion “Colonel Thayer, father of the United States military 
academy.” It was his desire to found at Dartmouth college 
a graduate school of engineering, exacting in its require¬ 
ments and complete and thorough in its work. Being a 
graduate school, its course, which occupies two years, is 
essentially professional. It devotes itself exclusively to civil 
engineering in the broader sense, and the high standard of 
admission has necessarily restricted the number of students. 
The first class was admitted in 1871, and from that year to 
1897, inclusive, 123 have entered, at an average age exceed¬ 
ing 23 years. Of these 79 were graduated with the degree 
of civil engineer. The government of the school is vested 
in a board of overseers consisting of the president of Dart¬ 
mouth college, with four officers of the engineer corps of 
the United States army, active or retired. 

The School of mines of Columbia college, now Columbia 
university, New York city, began its work in 1864. Its 
establishment was due, primarily, to Professor Thomas 
Egleston. Professor Egleston was graduated at Yale in 
1854, and at the Ecole des mines in Paris in i860. In 1863 
he prepared and published a plan for a school of mines 
which was the basis of the organization at Columbia college. 


5 / 9 ] SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS 29 

Up to that time the enormous mineral resources of the 
U nited States were almost unknown ; at least there had 
been little systematic effort towards their development. 
Such mining as was carried on was mostly under the direc¬ 
tion of so-called “ practical ” miners, whose methods were 
wasteful and extravagant. A few experts had come from 
European schools, but the full exploitation of the rich 
deposits which the country possessed demanded a large num¬ 
ber of trained and educated men. This demand the School 
of mines was destined to supply in a large measure, and it is 
difficult to overestimate the importance of its work during 
the quarter of a century following its foundation. The 
trustees of Columbia college permitted the use of certain 
rooms in the college buildings for the school and such col¬ 
lections of minerals, etc., as it might obtain. Professor 
Egleston was made professor of mineralogy and metallurgy, 
without salary, and he was shortly after joined by Professors 
Charles F. Chandler and F. L. Vinton on the same condi¬ 
tions, the faculty being expected to depend upon fees for 
support. The School of mines opened on November 15th, 
1864, with 29 students, and its success was a gratifying sur¬ 
prise from the very beginning. The students were generally 
of somewhat mature age, and many of them were college 
graduates. Although the college had in no way committed 
itself to the financial support of the school, small sums of 
money were granted, and the importance of the school to 
Columbia college became more and more evident. Early 
in 1865 the School of mines was formally adopted as a 
co-ordinate branch of the college, and it is not too much to 
say that for many years the college was most widely known 
by reason of this connection. The primary object of the 
school was the education and training of mining engineers 
and metallurgists. It gathered together a faculty of men 
distinguished in their specialties, and it was soon evident 
that it could wisely extend its operations so as to cover 
other branches of engineering and applied science. Courses 
of study in civil engineering, applied chemistry, sanitary 


30 SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS [580 

engineering, geology and architecture were added, although 
it still continued under the original name, School of mines. 
In 1889 a course in electrical engineering was added, and 
later on in mechanical engineering. In 1896 the title 
“ Columbia university” was adopted as covering all the 
departments of instruction and research previously associ¬ 
ated with or forming a part of Columbia college, and the 
title “School of mines” is now restricted to its original sig¬ 
nificance. The various engineering and science courses are 
now collectively directed by the “ faculty of applied sci¬ 
ence,” under which are the four schools of mines, chemistry, 
engineering and architecture. There is also a school of 
pure science under the direction of a faculty of pure science. 

The School of engineering offers courses in civil, electri¬ 
cal and mechanical engineering, all of four years’ duration, 
and corresponding degrees are granted. All of these 
schools are extensively equipped, and much attention is 
given to graduate courses and work. 

In the School of pure science instruction is given in 
anatomy, astronomy, bacteriology, botany, chemistry, geol¬ 
ogy, mathematics, mechanics, mineralogy, physics, physiol¬ 
ogy, and zoology. The faculty .of pure science exercises 
special supervision over the instruction and work of all can¬ 
didates for the degrees of master of arts and doctor of 
philosophy in pure science. The several faculties of instruc¬ 
tion in the university are not entirely distinct, but the total 
number of those giving instruction, in one way or another, 
in the courses in pure and applied science, is probably not 
far from 100, including professors, adjunct and associate 
professors, instructors, tutors and assistants. In 1899 there 
were registered 470 students under the faculty of applied 
sciences. The registration in the School of pure science 
was approximately 100. On January 1st, 1899, the total 
number of graduates in science was 1172. 

Practically all colleges or universities in the United States 
offer courses in pure or applied science, and while their work 
may not be differentiated from that of the departments suf- 


581] SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS 


31 


ficiently to constitute a distinct school, it is often of high 
quality and the material appliances and equipment, every¬ 
thing that could be desired. Of the older of those giving 
special attention to science and engineering a few will be 
briefly mentioned. They will doubtless receive full con¬ 
sideration under another division of the educational institu¬ 
tions of the United States. 

The College of the university of Pennsylvania provides, 
under a foundation known as the Towne scientific school, 
courses in architecture, mechanical and electrical engineer¬ 
ing, chemistry and chemical engineering. They are of four 
years’ duration and lead to the degree of bachelor of sci¬ 
ence. Ample facilities in the way of laboratories, machinery 
and apparatus, libaries, etc., are provided. Besides these 
courses in engineering, there is a course in biology, and all 
departments are represented in the university curricula and 
faculty of instruction. The University of Pennsylvania was 
among the earliest in its class to undertake systematic 
instruction in science, technology and engineering. In 1853 
it was resolved to establish a department of mines, arts and 
manufactures, and professorships in geology and miner- 
ology, and civil engineering and mining, and two regular 
courses in science were offered. In 1874 John Henry 
Towne, a trustee of the university, made the university the 
residuary legatee of his large estate. Whatever sum might 
accrue from this bequest was to form a portion of the 
endowment fund of the university, and the income from it 
was to be devoted exclusively to the payment of the salaries 
of professors and instructors in the department of science. 
In recognition of this generosity the department was 
named “the Towne scientific school of the University of 
Pennsylvania.” 

The John C. Green school of science is one of the depart¬ 
ments of Princeton university. Mr. Green was a wealthy 
merchant in New York city, who devoted much of his large 
fortune to charitable and educational foundations. He con¬ 
tributed generously to Princeton university aside from his 



32 SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS [582 

gift of $50,000 to found the school of science in 1873. 
This amount was subsequently much increased by the 
residuary legatees of his estate. Instruction is given in 
general science, civil engineering and electrical engineering. 
The courses are four years in length and lead to the degree 
of bachelor of science. In 1899 the number of students in 
the science department of the university was 338. 

Union college, at Schenectady, New York, founded in 
1 795, was one of the earliest institutions to furnish instruc¬ 
tion in engineering and general science. It was among the 
first to recognize the importance of modern languages, and 
at an early date it added a “ scientific course ” to the time- 
honored curriculum, which included little besides Latin, 
Greek and mathematics. In 1845 offered courses in civil 
engineering, and there has been added recently a depart¬ 
ment of electrical engineering which will enjoy exceptional 
opportunities, owing to the fact that the great manufactur¬ 
ing plant of the General electric company is located at 
Schenectady. 

Washington university, at St. Louis, Missouri, has long 
maintained a school or department of engineering of excel¬ 
lent reputation. It offers five courses of study, namely, in 
civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engi¬ 
neering, chemistry, and science and literature. They 
are of four years’ duration and lead to the degree of 
bachelor of science. Advanced and professional degrees 
are conferred on about the usual conditions as to study and 
experience. The testing laboratory of the department of 
civil engineering is one of the best known, especially for the 
large amount of timber testing for the U. S. government 
which has been done in it. The total number of graduates 
of the School of engineering, up to 1899, was 186. 

The University of Cincinnati, at Cincinnati, Ohio, founded 
in 1872 upon a bequest of Charles McMicken, a wealthy 
merchant of Cincinnati, provides courses in general science 
and in civil engineering. Instruction is also given in applied 
electricity, but no distinctive course in electrical engineering 


583] SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS 33 

is offered. The courses are of four years’ duration and lead 
to the degree of bachelor of science. There is also a course 
in astronomy, instruction in which is facilitated by an excel¬ 
lent astronomical observatory well equipped with modern 
instruments and appliances. A course in mathematics, 
announced in 1890, leads to the bachelor of science degree. 
In addition to the income from the McMicken fund, the 
university receives annually a considerable sum collected as 

a tax upon the taxable property of the city of Cincinnati. 

* 

The University of California, at Berkeley, California, 
includes in its departments a college of agriculture, of 
mechanics, of civil engineering and of chemistry. A course 
in electrical engineering is offered in the College of mechanics. 
They are all of four years’ duration and lead to the degree 
of bachelor of science. There is also an astronomical depart¬ 
ment in which is included the celebrated Lick observatory 
at Mt. Hamilton. 

There is also in California the well-known Leland Stan¬ 
ford, Junior, university, which offers courses in the natural 
sciences and in civil, mechanical and electrical engineering. 

The College of technology of Tulane university of Louisi¬ 
ana at New Orleans, Louisiana, is an important school not 
only on account of the excellence of its courses and facilities 
for instruction, but specially by reason of its location, and it 
is destined to be an important factor in the development of 
the great resources of the southern part of the United States. 
It offers five courses, namely, mechanical engineering, which 
includes electrical engineering, chemical engineering, sugar 
engineering, civil engineering and architecture. The course 
in “sugar engineering” is unique, and of special value to 
the sugar producing interests of the region in which the col¬ 
lege is located. It includes not only the chemistry and 
physics of sugar preparation and cultivation, but the 
mechanics and engineering of all machinery and appliances 
used in a modern sugar-making plant. The degree of bach¬ 
elor of engineering is conferred upon all who complete one 
of the courses of the college of technology. 


34 SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS [584 

Vanderbilt university, at Nashville, Tenn., maintains a well- 
equipped engineering department. In 1888 Mr. Cornelius 
Vanderbilt, the grandson of the founder, made a donation 
to the university of $30,000 for the erection of a building 
for mechanical engineering. Previous to that time, and in 
fact, from the opening of the institution in 1876, courses of 
science and civil engineering had been provided and in 1899 
mechanical and mining engineering were added. In 1895 a 
course in electrical engineering was established. Four years 
are required to complete any of the courses and the degree 
of bachelor of engineering is conferred upon those who suc¬ 
cessfully accomplish the work in either course. In 1899 
there were 18 students in the engineering department. 

There remains to be considered the third group of schools 
of science and engineering, which includes those depending 
for support largely upon state or national appropriations, 
or related to the universities or colleges deriving a large 
part or all of their income from these sources. 

Among the best known schools of engineering in the 
country are those forming a part of Cornell university, Ith¬ 
aca, N. Y. Those branches of engineering which depend 
principally upon mechanics are represented in Sibley college, 
while civil and hydraulic engineering, geodesy and kindred 
branches are included in the “ college of civil engineering.” 

The Sibley college of mechanical engineering and the 
mechanic arts was established through the generosity of 
Hiram Sibley who had been interested with Mr. Cornell in 
the great telegraph enterprises out of which grew the West¬ 
ern Union telegraph company. He was born in Masachu- 
setts in 1807 and died in Rochester, N. Y., in 1888. His 
interest in the telegraph began with the early experiments 
of Morse, and he was actively engaged in the attempt to 
connect Europe and America telegraphically by way of 
Bering Straits. He was also interested in railroad enter¬ 
prises and in farming on a large scale, being at one time the 
largest owner of improved lands in the United States. The 
college of mechanical engineering was begun by a gift from 


585] SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS 35 

Mr. Sibley sufficient for the erection of a building and 
for the support of a chair of “practical mechanics and 
machine construction.” He continued making additions to 
his first donations, and in 1885 the trustees of the university 
organized the college under the name by which it is now 
known. Mr. Sibley’s gifts amounted to $180,000, and 
$50,000 additional have been contributed by other mem¬ 
bers of the family. The Sibley college includes eight 
departments ; mechanical engineering, experimental engi¬ 
neering, electrical engineering, machine design, mechanic 
arts or shop work, industrial drawing and art, and graduate 
schools of marine engineering and naval architecture, and 
of railway mechanical engineering. Courses of study are 
four years in length and the degree of mechanical engineer, 
electrical engineer, etc., are conferred upon those who suc¬ 
cessfully complete the respective courses. In 1899 the num¬ 
ber of students in Sibley college was 492. The laboratories,, 
museums, shops and other parts of the college are very 
completely furnished and equipped. 

The College of civil engineering provides instruction in 
all departments of that subject and particularly in some of 
the more advanced developments of the science. Special 
instruction is given in bridge engineering, railroad engineer¬ 
ing, sanitary, municipal, hydraulic and geodetic engineering. 
Numerous graduate courses are provided, for illustrating 
which an astronomical observatory or laboratory, a magnetic 
laboratory, an extensive hydraulic laboratory and other 
laboratories furnish ample means. The museums of the 
College of civil engineering are rich in collections of models, 
instruments of precision, base line and gravity apparatus, 
together with a large assortment of the usual field instru¬ 
ments, such as transits, theodolites, levels, etc. In 1899 
there were registered 186 students in this college. 

The University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, Michigan, 
was organized by legislative act in 1837, which made pro¬ 
vision for instruction in engineering. Regular instruction 
was not begun, however, until 1853, and the first degrees 


2,6 SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS [586 

were conferred in i860. The engineering courses were 
included in the department of literature, science and the arts 
until 1895, at which time the department of engineering was 
established. Courses are offered in civil, mechanical, elec¬ 
trical and chemical engineering, and four years are usually 
required to complete any one of these. All lead to the 
degree of bachelor of science. Advanced degrees are con¬ 
ferred for graduate courses of study. In 1899 there were 
registered 218 students in the department of engineering. 

Purdue university, at Lafayette, Indiana, is in reality the 
Indiana institute of technology. It was originally organized 
under the Morrill act, but assumed the name which it now 
bears in 1869 when, by legislative enactment, the state 
accepted a gift of $150,000 and one hundred acres of land 
from John Purdue. It receives support from the state and 
national government, tuition being free to all residents of 
Indiana. The university embraces six special schools. 
They are as follows: A School of mechanical engineering, 
of civil engineering, of electrical engineering, of agriculture, 
of science and of pharmacy. Courses of study in these 
schools are four years in length, except in the School of 
pharmacy, in which the course is completed in two annual 
sessions of thirty-seven weeks each. The degree of bach¬ 
elor of science is conferred upon those completing one of 
the four-year courses, and that of graduate in pharmacy 
(Ph. G.) upon those who complete the course in pharmacy. 
There is an exceptionally large and well-arranged engineer¬ 
ing building which accommodates the departments of civil 
and mechanical engineering, and the equipment of the 
School of mechanical engineering is excellent. It is pro¬ 
vided with a locomotive testing plant and other appliances 
for railway mechanical engineering. The biological, chemi¬ 
cal and other laboratories are well furnished. In 1899 the 
total enrollment of students was 730, including 130 in the 
School of pharmacy and in a special class in agriculture, 
and the total number of instructors was about 65. 

The University of Wisconsin, at Madison, Wisconsin, was 


587] SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS 3 J 

established by act of the legislature in 1838, but no action 
was taken under the act except the selection of two town¬ 
ships of land as allowed by congress, for the future support of 
the institution. The first meeting of the board of regents for 
the purpose of organizing the university was held in 1849, 
and the first building was erected in 1851. In 1866 the 
university was reorganized to secure the land grant under 
the Morrill act, and in the following year the state began to 
support the institution by annual appropriations. The Col¬ 
lege of engineering was opened in 1870, and has established 
and maintained a high reputation for the excellence of its 
work. The College of “ mechanics and engineering,” as it 
is now called, provides courses of four years’ duration in 
civil, sanitary, mechanical and electrical engineering, and in 
applied electro-chemistry. These courses all lead to the 
degree of bachelor of science. Advanced and professional 
degrees are conferred under certain conditions as to gradu¬ 
ate study and experience. An excellent astronomical 
observatory is available for the instruction of students in 
civil engineering, and the college is well furnished with 
laboratories, apparatus, museums, etc. In 1899 there were 
242 students registered in the College of mechanics and 
engineering. 

The University of Illinois, at Urbana, Illinois, was founded 
in acceptance of the national land grant under the Morrill 
act in 1862, and named at first the Illinois industrial uni¬ 
versity. Power to confer degrees was granted by the state 
legislature in 1877, and in 1885 the name of the institution 
was changed to that which it now bears. The organization 
includes four “ colleges ” and six “schools.” The colleges 
are of literature and arts, of engineering, of science and of 
agriculture. The College of science offers courses arranged 
in four groups, including the chemical and physical group, 
the mathematical group, the natural science group and the 
philosophical group. The College of engineering offers 
courses in architecture, architectural engineering, civil engi¬ 
neering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and 


38 SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS [588 

municipal and sanitary engineering. There are also gradu¬ 
ate courses in science and in engineering. The degree of 
bachelor of science is conferred upon those completing one 
<of the courses of four years in the College of engineering^ 
and also in the College of science. 

Similar in origin, and in many respects similar in organi¬ 
zation, is the Ohio state university, at Columbus, Ohio. 
The institution opened its doors to students in September 
1873. From the beginning instruction in science and 
engineering has been the most prominent feature of its 
work. As now organized, the university embraces six col¬ 
leges, the College of engineering being one. In this col¬ 
lege are offered courses in civil engineering, mine engineer¬ 
ing, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, ceramics, 
industrial arts, chemistry and architecture. There is also a 
short course in mining, in clay working and in industrial 
arts. To those who complete these courses, which are of 
four years’ duration (except as explained above), degrees of 
civil engineer, engineer of mines, mechanical engineer, etc., 
etc., are granted, and in chemistry and some other courses 
the degree is bachelor of science. The College of arts, 
philosophy and science offers a course in general science, 
leading to the degree of bachelor of science. The university 
is especially well equipped in its laboratories and museums 
of geology, agriculture, mechanics and metallurgy. In 
1898 there were registered 302 students in the College of 
engineering. 

The University of Minnesota, at Minneapolis, Minnesota, 
is another example of an important and extensive develop¬ 
ment upon the land grant foundation. Originally organized 
in 1851, it dates its real beginning from 1868, when by act 
of the legislature it was reorganized as the recipient of the 
Morrill act endowments. Its organization includes a School 
of technical and applied chemistry, the College of engineer¬ 
ing and mechanical arts and the School of mines. The 
course in the School of chemistry is of four years’ duration 
and leads to the degree of bachelor of science. 


589] SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS 39 

The College of engineering and mechanic arts offers 
courses of four years each in civil, mechanical and electrical 
engineering, for which the degrees C. E., M. E. and E. E. 
are conferred. There is also a four years’ course in drawing 
and industrial art for which no degree is granted. In the 
School of mines there are two regular courses of study, in 
mining and in metallugy, leading to the degree of engineer of 
mines (E. M.) and metallurgical engineer (Met. E.) respec¬ 
tively. In 1898 there were registered in the College of engi¬ 
neering 129 students, in the School of mines 54, and in the 
School of chemistry 6. 

The University of Tennessee, at Knoxville, Tenn., char¬ 
tered in 1794 as “ Blount college,” becoming in 1807 “East 
Tennessee college,” in 1840 “East Tennessee university,” 
and finally receiving in 1869 the national land grant endow¬ 
ment, was given the name which it now bears by act of the 
legislature in 1879. College of agriculture, mechanic 

arts and sciences it provides courses in civil, mechanical and 
electrical engineering, in chemistry and in general science. 
Its buildings, laboratories, apparatus and general facilities 
are well up to the requirements of a high standard of work. 

The State college of Pennsylvania, at State College, Penn¬ 
sylvania, is another institution of pronounced success and 
high character which owes its origin to the Morrill act of 
1862 and in which ample provision is made for instruction 
in pure and applied science in courses and under conditions 
not varying greatly from those already set forth in describ¬ 
ing other institutions of the same type. 

Indeed, the list might easily be extended until it included 
the entire list of state institutions founded under this act or 
made the recipient of the income which it provides. 

If space permitted it would be profitable to consider in 
some detail two or three special schools, such as the Michi¬ 
gan School of mines, the Colorado School of mines, institu¬ 
tions which have grown out of the demands of their respec¬ 
tive localities, very much as did the famous school at Frei¬ 
berg long ago. Much might well be said, also, concerning 


40 SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS [59O 

the efforts made in the United States to establish trade 
schools, and of their great success in New York, in Phila¬ 
delphia, and under the direction of the Pratt institute in 
Brooklyn, and in Cincinnati, and elsewhere, notwithstanding 
the occasional opposition of trades’ unions and other 
unfriendly organizations. 

It is greatly regretted that limitations of space make it 
impossible to give something of a detailed exposition of the 
organization and methods of work in a few institutions like 
the Pratt institute at Brooklyn, the Drexel institute in Phil¬ 
adelphia, each of which is unique, and all of which are doing 
a most important work. 

It will be noted that the leading institutions or depart¬ 
ments of institutions in which special attention is given to 
pure and applied science do not differ materially in their 
organization, courses of study or degrees conferred. Prac¬ 
tically all courses are four years in length, in nearly all the 
first two years are largely preparatory to the special or pro¬ 
fessional work of the last two, embracing modern languages, 
mathematics and a few other subjects, most of which are 
common to all courses offered. The differentiation begins 
generally at the opening of the junior or third year, although 
in some cases it must commence earlier. In the matter of 
degrees the great majority of schools confer only the degree 
of bachelor of science at the end of the four years’ course, 
but there are a few that offer the so-called professional 
degrees such as C. E., M. E., etc., for the mastery of a four 
years’ course. The requirements for graduate degrees are 
tolerably uniform, being usually a year of resident study 
with the preparation of a thesis for the master’s degree, and 
in addition to this usually three years’ successful profes¬ 
sional work with an acceptable thesis for a professional 

The requirements for admission are by no means uniform, 
nor are they extremely varied. Perhaps the typical average 
requirements for admission to schools of science or engi¬ 
neering colleges would include — besides the “common 



59 x ] SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS 41 

English branches” — algebra, plane geometry, English lit¬ 
erature, history of the United States and either the French 
or German language. About two to three years’ study of 
the latter would be required, and to this list will often be 
added solid geometry, plane trigonometry, the elements of 
physics or chemistry, and sometimes a year or two of Latin. 
There seems to be a growing tendency towards the intro¬ 
duction of a large number of electives among the subjects 
required for admission. 

It is hoped that a sufficient number of institutions have 
been considered and that enough has been said of them to 
exhibit in some degree the enormous educational advance 
which has taken place during the past fifteen or twenty 
years throughout the whole country, and especially in what 
is known as the “middle west.” At no previous period in 
the history of the world has there been so rapid and pro¬ 
ductive an evolution of educational forces as this period has 
witnessed, and it will not escape notice that it has largely 
been a development of methods and appliances for the study 
science, pure and applied . No sketch of the origin, 
growth and present condition of the schools of science and 
engineering in the United States would be complete with¬ 
out reference to the Johns Hopkins university, an institution 
which, although giving little attention to applied science and 
technology, has been a very large factor in determining 
the character and methods of instruction to which these 
schools owe their success. Although not yet twenty-five 
years old, it is impossible to overestimate its influence 
upon higher education in this country, and especially is 
this true in all things relating to science. There is 
scarcely a college faculty that has not been enriched by the 
presence of one or more of its graduates, bringing with 
them at least something of the spirit of that institution, its 
respect for exact scholarship and regard for scientific truth. 
For the schools, of engineering and technology in the 
United States are, and are intended to be, something more 
than a mere avenue leading to increased money-making 


42 SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING SCHOOLS [592 

power. They are intended to fit for the responsibilities of 
citizenship, and, if worthy of the name, their methods of 
instruction are such as to cultivate independence of thinking 
and personal responsibility in judgment. Nor are they 
deficient in that intellectual discipline and culture which 
constitute a liberal education. Although not specifically 
organized for original research, their methods of work nat¬ 
urally lead to and encourage it, and during the past quarter 
of a century they have contributed generously to the 
advancement of pure science, to which, however, they must 
always be in debt. As a whole, they represent one of the 
most important achievements of an age whose chief glory 
is found in the increase and diffusion of science and its 
applications. 









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